All In The Name Of Family
by BH72
Summary: Leroy Jethro Gibbs and G Callen have been friends for a long time. This delves into their friendship, how they met and how their close friendship came about. They are pulled together with both of their teams to take down enemies of Callen's and of his team, to protect the family of a dead Lieutenant Commander. Both of their teams, are shocked to discover their biggest secret.
1. Chapter 1

**All In The Name Of Family**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I do not own any NCIS or NCISLA characters. I am thankful I can borrow them for this story._

**Chapter 1**

Tom stopped and turned casually, as he scanned the area around him. His gut told him he was being followed. He was with friends, who he continued to interact with as he pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and took photos of anyone who looked out of place. Which meant anyone over thirty years of age, at the Radford University, excluding professors and other staff. It was Tom's first year at the University, but he had settled in well and was fully aware of who belonged there and who didn't. He noticed an old man with bleached blonde hair walking around suspiciously, so he snapped a picture of him as he continued off to his next class, with his friends. Sally and Luke were non the wiser of Tom's instincts of being followed, so they continued to chatter and still include him in the conversation.

Once safe within the building, he made an excuse for the bathroom. "Save me a seat, will you?" He asked them. Both of his friends nodded.

After he checked all cubicles were clear, Tom made his call. "Mom. I'm being followed."

Fear ripped through Ava Day's body, when her son's words sunk in. "Did you see anyone suspicious?" She asked him. "Did you get a photo?"

"Yes Mom. He's an old guy with what looks like part of his left arm missing." Ava grabbed her keys. "We're coming to get you. Bronte! Jesse! Kelly! We need to get to Tom. Let's go."

The four occupants climbed into the silver SUV, and remained quiet as they drove to the Radford University. Tom's siblings didn't dare question their Mom about why they were fetching him. However, concern could be seen in each of their facial expressions.

The drive was only an hour and a quarter, but the occupants knew it would be a round trip of two and a half. There went their afternoon of hanging out with friends. They had a day off school, so they were home, when Tom had called.

Ava pulled up beside Tom's dormitory building. She could see her blue eyed blonde haired, tanned skin and athletic built son leaning against a tree, as he waited for her. The corners of her mouth tilted upwards as she saw him, although worried about him, she couldn't help the memory of the boy's Father enter her mind. He had been not much older than Tom, when they had first met and fell in love. Before they knew it, they were expecting Tom. Her Father had shown a great interest in the man she had fallen head over heels with, and watched a close bond form between them. They were so much alike, she noted. It had pleased her, as he hadn't had a family. And she hadn't had much of her Father's attention through her childhood either, due to how young her own parents were, when she came along. But after her Father had tragically lost his other family, he came around a whole lot more, and genuinely showed an interest in her life and that of her boyfriend. When Tom was born, he played the active Grandpa role. They had been happy. But a shadow hung over her boyfriend's life, which drifted them apart. She had been pregnant with Bronte, when she noticed how he had built walls up around his heart and spent more time working, than being at home with them. Then he began travelling overseas, months on end. It wasn't a life she had wanted. After growing up with a Father who lived elsewhere, she had so badly wanted her children to have their family complete. She pushed her memories to the back of her mind, as she focused on the present.

Tom climbed in the back with Jesse and Kelly. Ava turned and looked at her son. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

Tom nodded. "I think he's gone. But we can ask Grandpa to find out who he is."

"Good idea." Ava pressed her Father's cell number on her phone. She waited for him to pick up. "Dad. We need your help. Someone's been following Tom at Radford. Can Tom send you the photo of him for a check on who he is? We've just driven to Radford to pick him up."

Her Father was a man of few words, so she was used to him being a very good listener. He always waited till she had finished, before he said anything. "Yes, sure. Is he alright?" He never used their names over the phone. It was for their protection.

"Yes he is, thanks Dad." Ava turned to her son. "Send it through to him Tom."

It was approaching dinner time, by the time they neared home. Ava hadn't had time to prepare dinner, rushing out the door earlier, so she decided to ring her husband and have the whole family eat out. It was a rarity, but sometimes a necessity.

Ava got frustrated as she tried again to call Matt. "It keeps going to voice mail. I'll have to message him." She said out loud. She hoped he got her message as she pulled up outside a Mexican Diner.

She was distracted all throughout dinner. 'Where was Matt? Why hasn't he picked up her calls or texted back?' Her children thankfully hadn't noticed, and seemed to enjoy having Tom around again. He kept them entertained by his stories of his life at uni.

They were full from their spicy Mexican dinner of burritos. Her children appeared happy, but worry sat in the pit of her stomach. It didn't mix well with the food she had eaten, making her stomach heavy and slightly uncomfortable.

As they pulled up into their driveway, the opened front door alarmed her. Ava instructed for them to lock their doors and remain in the car. She quickly sent her Father a text and grabbed the pistol she carried on her, before she entered their family home. Furniture was thrown all over the house. As she moved up the stairs, she smelt blood. Frantic, as fear gripped her, she ran the rest of the way and screamed as she saw her husband's bloodied body lying lifeless, in the entrance to their bedroom. Matt's glazed over brown eyes stared back at her. She crumbled onto the floor beside him, but did not touch him. Her Father had stressed to her over the years that if she ever came across a crime, the importance to keep it undisturbed.

Her phone rang. "Ava. Don't go into the house." She heard her Father's voice on the other end.

Ava cried. "Matt. Dad, he's dead." Tears poured down her face. She flinched, as she felt arms come around her. She turned and saw her eighteen year old son pulling her into his arms.

"Mom. We need to get out of here." Tom picked the cell up from his Mom's lap and spoke to his grandfather. "Grandpa. We need a safe house."

"Tom. I need you to get your Mom out of the house. Meet me at my place. Make sure you are not followed." Tom heard his grandfather's urgency in the command.

"Yes Sir." He hung up the phone and pulled his Mom to her feet, leading her as quickly as he could down the stairs and out to the car. He urged Bronte to move into the back as the horror of their Mom's state rocked them. Tom placed his Mom in the front passenger seat and buckled her in. He ran around to the driver's side and revved the engine, taring out of the driveway and down the street.

Tom continued to check his mirrors and drove around the block a few streets away to ensure they weren't being followed. A black sedan moved a few cars behind, following their every move. "We're being followed." Tom told his Mom and siblings. "It's not safe to go to Grandpa's house. We'll have to go somewhere else for safety."

**NCIS**

Agent Tim McGee was speechless, as he brought the distraught family into the conference room. The boy, aged eighteen, he supposed, had taken charge over the family, due to the state of shock his Mom was in. The boy had explained how his Mom had found their house ransacked, and their Father's dead body, after picking him up from university. The two younger children, twins, aged ten, remained quiet and close to their older sister Bronte, aged sixteen. The older girl looked a lot like her older brother; blond hair and blue eyes, whereas the younger two, had brown hair and eyes. The contrast from the older two, to the younger two, made McGee conclude this was a blended family; same mother, different fathers. There was something else, he couldn't quite make out, that reminded him of someone else he knew. It puzzled him. He was relieved when his fellow team mate, Tony Dinozzo walked into the conference room.

"Have you seen the boss?" McGee asked Tony.

"No. He's still not answering my calls." Tony replied, as he studied the devastated family before him. "Director Vance has sent a team to the crime scene, to determine what has happened. Did you get anything out of the Mother?"

"No. She's still in shock. The boy has told me how his Mom had tried to contact his Dad about eating out for dinner, but she couldn't get through to him. They now know why." McGee added. "Has Duckie come in yet? We may need his expertise in helping the woman deal with her husband's death. We need her to answer our questions about her husband."

Tony looked over at the woman, whose tear stained face, had become blank from the shock she had endured. Besides her current state, she was a beautiful woman, Tony concluded. Her children were also attractive, but grief and fear had taken over their expressions as well. "We've got intel on the husband. He was Lieutenant Commander Matthew Day, US Navy SEAL. There was nothing he was working on that I could find would be the cause of his murder. Abby and I are looking deeper into his file."

"When's Cooper coming in?" McGee asked him. It was times like is, they missed Ziva. They had temps in, replacing her, but like when she was missing, they couldn't find anyone good enough to replace her. Now they knew she wasn't coming back, they had to accept whoever they got, to help the team.

"She said she'll be in as soon as possible. Mentioned something about getting a neighbour to take her kids to school, as her husband is overseas for work." McGee nodded. Cooper was probably the nicest and most fitting into the team they'd had yet, but her being a Mom had its disadvantages.

**NCIS**

Callen's cell buzzed, waking the usually sleepless agent awake. "Callen." He jerked awake, as he heard his old friend's voice.

"I need you in DC. Tom's been followed at uni. Ava found Matt's body at home when they returned from picking Tom up. I told them to meet me at my house, but they haven't turned up." Callen could hear the concern in his old friend's voice. His own body tensed, as he listened to what he was telling him.

"Find them Gibbs. Please find them. I'm on my way." Callen hung up and and dialled another number. "Hetty. I need your help."

Henrietta Lange sat up in her bed, as she listened to her team leader tell her his story. "Anything you need, Mr Callen. We are all here for you. Does Mr Hanna know anything about this?" The news that her team leader, who she had watched over the years growing up, had a family on the other side of the country floored her. She had prided herself to know everything there was about each of her agents and support staff. It was for their safety, that she had done the research. So she was completely surprised, the one member of her team she had known from the age of five years of age, had kept such a massive secret from her.

"Yes he does Hetty. I will call him on the way to the airport." She noticed his voice faltered. He was good at hiding his emotions, but now, it involved people he cared about. Loved. His children, and their Mother. She could tell that he still held feelings for the Mother of his children, by the way he talked about her. But then another shock. This woman, Ava Day, was Agent Gibbs' daughter. Hetty had heard how the senior agent who lead the main team out if DC had lost his wife and daughter tragically all those years ago. But what no one knew, except for Callen, she realised, that he had a daughter from a relationship he had in his late teens.

"Take care, Mr Callen. I hope you find them safe and well." She really did hope. She prayed, they were safe. After all the loss her lead agent had lost at such a young age, she worried how it would affect him, if he lost anyone else he cared about. She understood why he had kept them a secret. To keep them safe. She nodded her head and a small smile appeared on her lips, as she realised that all she had done to keep him safe, he had done the same to keep the next generation of Callen children safe. Hidden from the Comescus and all his enemies through his job.

"Thanks Hetty." Callen hung up from his Operations Manager and dialled his partner.

"Sam." Sam sat up as he heard the distress in his partner's voice.

"What is it G?" Sam asked him.

"Ava and our kids have gone missing. Gibbs rang to tell me Tom was being followed at uni, so Ava and the others went to pick him up. They returned home to find it ransacked and her husband murdered. Gibbs told them to meet him at his house, but they never showed up. I'm on my way to the airport. I need your help. Get the team awake and into OPS. We need everyone's eyes on this."

"Will do G." Sam pulled his clothes over his tired body as he grabbed his keys to leave the house. "Don't do anything stupid G."

A message came through on Callen's phone. "Hang on Sam. Gibbs sent me the photo of the man following Tom." Callen put Sam on hold as he opened the photo. Shivers ran down Callen's body as he looked at the image. He suddenly felt cold. Very cold. "Shit!"

"G?" Sam became worried. "What is it?"

"Sam. I need you all to gear up and fly to DC. It's Janvier. He found my kids." All colour ran from Callen's face. The movement from the taxi, made him go queazy.

The mention of the betrayer, sent goosebumps to Sam's skin. Memories of the torture he and Deeks endured to protect his wife from Sidorov, flooded back. "Shit G. We're coming. As soon as we can." Sam hung up, praying they would find the bastard and end his miserable life, once and for all. He dialled Kensi's number first before the rest of the team. 'When was this all going to be over?' Sam wondered. None of them felt safe, until Janvier was dead.

_Love to know what you think of my story._


	2. Chapter 2

**All In The Name Of Family**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I do not own any NCIS or NCISLA characters. I am thankful I can borrow them for this story._

**Chapter 2**

Gibbs exited the lift into his work place, frustrated and worried. He had tried all night to locate his family. Seeing Callen's reply to the photo he had sent to him, had him more worried. Callen's nemesis had found Tom and probably the whole family. For years, both Callen and himself agreed to keep Ava and their children a secret, for their safety. Between the both of them, they had racked up quite a lot of enemies. After losing Shannon and Kelly, he wasn't going to take any chances. After the Mexican drug cartel trying to hurt anyone dear to him, he had been thankful for that decision. Then there was the news about a Romanian Crime family having a blood feud with Callen's family. Again, both men agreed they had made the right decision. But now they were in danger. It was time he told his team about them. He knew Callen was doing the same thing.

"Boss. Where have you been? It's nine in the morning. We've been trying to reach you for hours." McGee saw grief flash over Gibbs's face. He frowned, wondering why his usually controlled boss looked dishevelled.

"Out searching." Gibbs replied.

"For who? We have a case boss. The family of a Lieutenant Commander Matthew Day are in the conference room. They found his body last night. The wife is in shock, the eldest told us a little. But even he's been closed lip on a lot."

Gibbs head shot up at the mention of his daughter and grandchildren. "They're here?" 'Hell! Why didn't he think of that! Smart kid.' Gibbs thought of his eldest grandson.

"Yes." McGee was confused by his boss' behaviour.

"I've spent all night looking for them. Agent Callen will be arriving soon from LA. His team will join us in a few hours also." Leroy Jethro Gibbs saw the confusion on his agent's face. "Ava is my daughter, Tim." Tony and Abby walked up behind Gibbs as he told McGee. Surprise washed over their faces.

"Your daughter?" Abby couldn't hold her peace. "You have another daughter, and didn't tell us?" She felt betrayed by her boss, who she saw as a father figure.

Gibbs turned and looked at Abby and Tony. Tony stood speechless. "I had to keep them safe Abs."

The three of them watched their boss run up the stairs, into the conference room. "He has grandkids!" A smile appeared on Abby's face. She was never one to hold grudges long, to anyone she cared for.

"Did I hear right? That Agent Callen and his team are flying in for this case?" Tony asked McGee.

"Yes you did." The three turned and saw Agent G Callen standing beside Tony's desk with concern over his face. "Where's Gibbs?"

"G Callen!" Abby hugged him.

Callen hugged the forensic scientist in return. They had a close bond, ever since he had saved her life a few years back. "Abby Scuito."

"Gibbs is upstairs in the conference room, with his daughter and grandkids." Tony replied to the agent's question.

"They're here?" Relief washed over him. 'They were safe.'

"You too?" McGee added. Then it hit him. Tom and Bronte were Callen's children.

"Where's the conference room?" Callen asked them.

"I'll show you." McGee led Callen up the stairs.

**NCIS**

Gibbs rushed into the conference room. The state of his daughter and grandkids shocked him. "Ava. Sweetheart." He sat down beside her and turned her chair to face him. He held her hands, hoping to get through to her shocked state. He looked over and saw Tom and Bronte try to comfort Jesse and Kelly. 'How much Kelly looked like his daughter Kelly, at the same age,' he thought. He smiled over at them, to provide some sort of comfort.

Ava looked up at her Father. Gibbs finally saw recognition in her eyes. "Dad." She whispered. She crumbled into his arms and cried. Ava surprised herself at the fact she could still cry. She hadn't cried this much in a long time. Sixteen years, to be exact. When she lost G. Those damn walls he built up to protect his heart, had broken hers. It was what had led her to move on. She had two young children, and with the help from her Mom, she went to work in the Navy yard at Norfolk. Being the daughter of a marine had led her there, to be closer to her Father. Her Mom had supported her decision. That was how she met Matt. A Navy SEAL, who showed her the love she craved. G had been overseas for ten months, their relationship was pretty much over. Tom and Bronte were so young, they needed a Father figure in their lives. But now she mourned, over the loss of him. The man who had healed her broken heart from G.

There was a knock on the door. Gibbs looked over and saw his friend appear in the room.

"Dad." Tom and Bronte greeted their Father. Bronte hugged him with such force, she nearly bowled him over.

"Hey." He studied them and then saw Ava, crying in her Father's arms. "Are you all okay?" He asked them. He had spent the entire five hour flight worrying about them.

"We're unharmed Dad. Safe now. But someone did follow us from the house." Tom looked from his Father to his grandfather. "That's why we couldn't meet you at your place. I had trouble shaking them, but managed to somehow, and found ourselves near here."

Gibbs and Callen were proud of Tom. He had taken charge, when Ava went into shock. The decisions he had made, had kept them safe. "That was the best move you made. I just wished I knew where your were." Gibbs told him.

"Both of our cells had gone flat. We couldn't find a charger in the car. It must have been removed." Tom stated.

"You're safe here now, that's all that matters." Callen told him. He moved closer, but hesitated. The last time he had spoken to Ava on the phone, they had argued. She couldn't understand why he had told her it hadn't been safe for them to fly to LA. The truth was, the fear of Janvier finding out about them, had led to Callen keeping his distance from his own children. He had missed Tom's graduation. He knew Ava was furious with him over it still. But now it pained him to see her suffer like this. It was his fault that Matt was dead. The guilt laid heavily on his shoulders. He was determined to make amends and right his wrong.

There were so many reasons why he had wished they had never rescued Janvier from the Iranians. But the decisions had been made from fear of a greater risk, of two nuclear bombs being in the hands of their enemies, therefore it had all been out of his hands. He hated the fact that Deeks had to watch Sam's back. He blamed himself for not checking Janvier thoroughly before meeting up with Isaak Sidorov. The betrayal of the French arms dealer haunted his dreams every night. Now his nightmare had returned and threatened the lives of his children, their half brother and sister and their Mother. The woman he had never gotten over. He knew it was his fault he had pushed her away. Now it was his fault, her husband was dead. He braced for Ava's anger toward him.

Ava sat up. She noticed her Father had pulled slightly away from her. As she turned, she saw him, standing there, hesitant. It was unusual to see him so unsure of himself, but there he was, doubting if he should move closer to her or not. She turned to her Father. "You Called G?"

Gibbs nodded. "I didn't know where you were. I needed him here to help me find you. To keep you safe." Gibbs sighed. He could see the clogs in his daughter's brain turn over.

"But we came to your work. I thought this was where..." She paused. Her brain was fuzzy. Ava tried hard to think back to the house. She remembered seeing Matt's lifeless body staring back at her and her Father's voice, telling her not to go into the house. "What happened?" She swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat from the horror she remembered.

"You were suppose to meet me at my house." Ava looked at her Father, with a frown. "You were being followed." She turned to Tom. She remembered and nodded. As she looked up at Callen, she saw guilt cross over his face, ever so briefly. 'But why?' Then she realised. Callen and her Father knew who was in the picture Tom had taken.

"Who is he?" She asked Callen, not wavering her stare into his blue eyes. She wanted answers, and by damn she was going to get them.

Callen saw the determination return into Ava's eyes. He knew he needed to be honest with her, no matter what the consequences were. "He's a French arms dealer, whose out to destroy everyone that matters to me." He licked his lips that were still dry from the flight, but also from nerves. 'Why did Ava have such an effect on him?' A question he had asked himself over the past twenty years, yet still didn't have an answer. The hardest thing he had ever had to do, was let her go. She deserved more than he could ever give. He had let her find happiness and now it was his fault she had lost the man who had given what he couldn't. "I'm so sorry Ava."

"G!" Ava shook her head. "Don't." She couldn't deal with his apology right then. She stood up. She needed to get out of this room. From him. She swayed.

Gibbs caught her. "Are you sure you're okay Av?" His words were gentle, like a late summer's night breeze. Gentle and warm.

"I just need to go to the bathroom and freshen up." Her determination returned, as she walked past Callen, without looking back. It took all of her strength to go past him. Part of her wanted to punch him hard, for letting this mess happened to them. It was his fault Matt was dead. The other part of her wanted, no, needed him to comfort her. She pulled herself into the corner of the ladies bathroom, into a ball. She rested her head on her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. Tears began pouring down her cheeks again. She quickly wiped her tears away. She heard the door open, but ignored the intruder. She needed to be alone.

Callen stood by the basins, as he watched Ava all curled up in the corner of the bathroom. He was torn, on whether to stay where he was or to move closer. He didn't deserve to have her anymore in his life, he was just thankful that she allowed him to still have contact with his children. But seeing Ava suffer like this, it pulled at his heart strings. All he wanted was for her to be happy. He knew he couldn't give that to her, so he had let her go. Although it had broken his heart to see her happy with Matt, he knew it had to be that way.

"He's the reason why you couldn't come to LA, and why I couldn't come to Tom's graduation. I needed to keep you all safe." He found the strength to move closer and sit near her, on the floor. "I have no idea how he found about any of you. This was not supposed to happen, Ava. I thought I had kept you all safe." He gently placed his hand on her arm, to comfort her.

Ava shrugged his hand away. She couldn't deal with his apology. It was his fault Matt was dead. "Leave me alone G." She forced the words out of her mouth. "Just kill the bastard and leave me alone." Her body shook from all the emotions that rippled through her body. "Seeing you are so good at doing that."

Her last words stung. But he knew she had every right to say them. He deserved them. He placed the blame on himself for all that had happened to her. "No, Ava. I'm not leaving you this time." No matter what guilt he felt, he needed to be there for her now. She deserved that much.

"Why? Why now?" Ava turned and looked him straight into his eyes. They shared the same blue eyes. She had inherited hers from her Father, so it was no surprise, Tom and Bronte had inherited them as well. But they had inherited his blonde hair. It wasn't hard to know they were his children. They were his kids, through and through. She thought on that, as she waited for Callen to respond.

"Because I have let you down, again." Callen admitted. "It's my fault that Matt is dead, and your lives have been threatened. I can't let anything happen to you, Av. When your Dad rang to tell me what happened...and you didn't show up at his house...I thought I had lost you. All of you." Tears had welled up in Callen's eyes.

Ava frowned as she hadn't seen this side of him in a long time. He was always good at hiding his emotions. Something had changed in Callen, she realised. "G!" She shook her head. She needed to clear it. She couldn't deal with him getting all emotional on her. Not now. Not after all he had put her through.

She stood to leave. Callen grabbed her by the arms and pulled her closer to him. "Let me go, G." She demanded. She tried hard to be strong in front of him.

"Please forgive me, Av. I never meant to hurt you." She studied his eyes. She could see the worry in them. But that wasn't what shook her. It was the fear she saw in them as well. And the fact he was still in love with her.

"Damn you G. You can't push me away and all these years later think you can have me back. I'm not a toy. You broke my heart when you built those stupid walls around your heart. I don't know what's happened to you, for you to have them crashed down around you now, like this. But my husband is dead. And it's all your fault." Ava pushed herself away and locked herself in a cubicle. "Go away G. Find this man so we can go home. Then you can return to your blissful life back in LA."

Her whole body shook. It broke her to treat him like this, but she needed to. She couldn't face him being so loving towards her. Her husband was dead, so she needed to mourn over him and focus on rebuilding their lives without the man who had healed her broken heart.

_Love to know what you think._


	3. Chapter 3

**All In The Name Of Family**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I do not own any NCIS or NCISLA characters. I am thankful I can borrow them for this story._

**Chapter 3**

Callen decided he needed to heed to Ava's request, to leave her alone. She was right. He had broken her heart, and now, because of him, Matt was dead, and the rest of them were in danger. This was why he had left in the first place. That over powering need to keep what was most precious to him, safe. He needed to focus on finding Janvier and who else was working with him, to end this, once and for all. He knew, that there was no way, Janvier could have killed Matt. Matt was a well trained Navy SEAL. Janvier was a weakened old man, with only one hand, thanks to the Iranians. But there was no doubt, it was Marcel Janiver, who had been following Tom at his University.

As he left the ladies bathroom, he bumped into their director, Leon Vance. "Director." Callen greeted the older man.

"Agent Callen. I've just got off the phone from being updated by Hetty. Would you care to elaborate with me in my office, on why you are here and why the rest of your team are on route to D.C.?"

Callen nodded and followed his boss into his office. Callen sat opposite Leon, trying hard to reign his emotions back into order, after dealing with Ava. Before he could start, Gibbs entered the office.

"Leon. Before you start hassling Callen, on why he's here, I called him." Gibbs sat in the adjoining chair to Callen.

Leon Vance looked over at the two agents before him. They were very much alike, Leon knew, and dear friends. He wasn't sure how long back, their friendship went, but knew they were close. He also knew, for Gibbs to call Callen and his team over to the other side of the country, that it had been necessary. "Okay. So whose going to start off and tell me why a dead Navy SEAL in DC, required our best team from Los Angeles to fly out here? They have cases that they need to work on over there. So this had better be good."

"Ava Day is my daughter, Leon." Leroy Jethro Gibbs admitted to his boss. As always, he was a man of few words. But to the point.

Leon raised his eyebrows, as surprise crossed his face. "Are you telling me that our dead Lieutenant Commander is your son-in-law Gibbs?"

"Yes." Leon could see grief in his senior Agent's eyes.

"Look, I am sorry about your loss, Gibbs. I had no idea." Leon reflected on his own family, and how he felt when he lost his wife. He understood why Gibbs had kept his family a secret. Especially after losing Shannon and Kelly. "But why is Agent Callen here?"

Callen decided it was his turn to speak up. "Tom rang his Mom up saying he was being followed at his University. He took a photo on his phone of a man, he suspected to be the one following him. He sent it through to Gibbs, who sent it through to me. It's Marcel Janvier, Director."

Callen stood, as anger rippled through his body. "He's out to kill anyone close to me. He promised me that. But I thought they were safe."

Leon frowned. "I'm missing something here, aren't I?" He looked between the two agents in his office.

"Ava's two older children, are mine, Director. Janvier has found my kids." Callen struggled to keep his emotions in check. This was too personal. It was bad enough when Janvier killed Renko and Hunter. But when he burned Sam and he nearly lost his partner and Deeks because off Janvier, it had nearly destroyed him. He began to doubt his ability to continue on as team leader. The decisions he made, in breaking Janvier out of Iran, had consequences that were far greater than he or Hetty had ever imagined. They knew he was evil. But now...he was after his kids. And he was afraid for their lives. If he lost Ava, Tom or Bronte...it would kill him.

Leon stood and walked over to the younger man. He placed his hand on his shoulder for support. "I understand how you feel, Agent Callen. The need to protect our families lies heavily on our shoulders everyday. Whatever you need to do to end Janvier, you have my full support."

Callen nodded. "Thank you Director."

Callen left the Director's office to contact Hetty. He needed an update on whatever Eric and Nell had found for him. As he exited the office, he found McGee looking for him.

"Callen. Hetty is online for you in MTAC." Callen nodded and followed him into the secured room.

As Callen walked down the ramp, he saw the familiar trio's faces up on the screen. "Hetty! Nell! Eric!"

"Mr Callen. We have some disturbing news." Callen's body tensed at this.

"We found Janvier with these four men, earlier yesterday." Nell began. Up on the screen, Callen saw four Russian men with Janvier.

"Sidorov's men?" Callen asked them.

"It looks like it." It had frustrated them all that although they were able to find the nukes, they hadn't been able to find Sidorov nor his close associates. Nell brought more data on the screen. "The same four men were seen a block away from the Day's home. It looks like they were the ones who killed Lieutenant Commander Matthew Day."

"Sidorov is in DC?" Callen's fists clenched tight by his side, as he tried to keep his emotions under control. Not only did he have Janvier to worry about, but Sidorov and his men as well. Which meant Sam and Deeks had to stay out of sight.

"We are still searching for any traces of Sidorov in DC." Eric added. "But that's not all Callen."

Callen's eyes fixed on the new footage on the the screen. "They were at Radford University as well? When was this footage taken?" A cold chill moved down his spine, causing a churning to form in the pit of his stomach, and sweat appear on his brow.

"Around the time Lieutenant Commander Day's body was found by his wife." Eric replied. The Technical Operator frowned, as he could see the information he gave their team leader, appeared to affect him in a new way. Like it was personally affecting him.

"You mean to tell me, that if Tom hadn't picked up he was being followed, that he would have been killed by Sidorov's men?" Callen's voice raised higher than he would normally speak, sounding strained and foreign to him.

"We don't know that for sure Mr Callen." Hetty tried to reassure him.

"Like hell we do. These men had no qualms in killing a Lieutenant Commander of the Navy in his own home. He had nothing to do with any of this Hetty. Janvier has found them and its because of his vendetta against me, he is using Sidorov's men to kill them." Anger rippled through his body. The room became hot as he tried to calm himself down. His children and Ava, they needed him to focus, to keep them safe.

"Am I missing something here?" Eric finally asked. "Why would Janvier go after a family in DC to get back at you? You don't have any family..."

Nell punched Eric's side. He looked back at her in disbelief of her actions. It was a valid question.

"Because of Matt Day's wife, Ava...we have a history." Callen tried hard to hide exactly how much this case was affecting him. He took some deep breaths, to reign his emotions back in.

"How would Janvier find out about some girl you dated years ago? And why would she matter to you now?" Eric still needed to understand why Callen and the rest of their team were in DC. Hell, he needed to understand why Janvier and Sidorov's men were also there.

"Because we had two kids together, Eric." His words hit the Technical Operator and Intelligence Analyst quickly.

"Kids?" Disbelief sat on their faces. They turned to look at their Operations Manager, wondering why they hadn't been filled in this detail. Very important detail. Everything made perfect sense now.

"I only told Hetty late last night. Sam and Gibbs were the only two who knew." Callen explained. "Ava is Gibbs' daughter. Not even his team here in DC, or Director Vance knew about them. We had both kept their existence a secret, to avoid a situation like this."

"I'm sorry Callen, we had no idea." Nell replied. The day was early, but they had been up most of the night, ever since Sam had called them. They now understood why they were doing what they were doing.

"Thanks." He turned to Hetty. "If Ava hadn't taken all the kids with her to pick up Tom, there would have been more bodies. Let me know when you have a location here in DC, so we can kill them. Janvier, Sidorov and his men. Too many lives have been lost already due to these men. Director Vance has given me the authority to get these men by whatever means."

"Don't do anything stupid, Mr Callen. Use the resources of people in DC. Fresh faces, will help disguise them from people we work with. Use them first, before you place yourself or anyone in your team at risk." It was a warning, he took heed of.

"Don't worry Hetty. I will not place Sam or Deeks in any position where they will be made by Sidorov or Janvier."

He cut the feed and exited the room. He needed to get some air, so he headed straight for the lift to find somewhere decent for some coffee. The worry and lack of sleep, even for him, was catching up on him.

**NCIS**

Called sipped on his freshly brewed coffee as Gibbs sat beside him. "Ava doesn't blame you Callen." Gibbs joined his dear friend drinking the coffee, bought from the vending machine, outside of their offices. "You know what she gets like. A bit too much like her Mother sometimes. Gets all fired up with anger and all emotional. But really, she still cares for you."

"She's right Gibbs. This is my fault." He watched the people in the Navy yard as they walked by, minding their own business. "No! You can't say this isn't my fault. We broke Janvier out of Iran, to broker a deal between Isaak Sidorov and the Iranians, so we could find the missing nukes Sidorov had stolen from the Russian sleeper agents. This one is on me." Callen could see the determination in his friend's eyes, to make him realise he was not to be blamed. But the guilt of all the danger and damage Janvier had caused since he had ever met the man, rested heavily on his shoulders.

"You were doing your job, Callen. There are times we have to do things that risk our own lives and those close to us, for the greater good. The damage those nukes could have done, if you hadn't located them, would have been greater than the damage caused by Janvier and Sidorov, combined." Callen went to stand, to shake his friend's words out of his head, but Gibbs stopped him. "I'm serious Callen. This is not your fault. You cannot be blamed for the actions of another. I know that look of yours. Please, Ava needs you more than ever. You may think you did the right thing by pushing her away all those years ago, to protect them. And perhaps you were right. We both were. But now they are in danger, and it's time we both put our own feelings to the side and focused on taking these men down." Gibbs watched the clogs in his friend's brain tick over.

"You're right Gibbs. You are always right. We need to focus on bringing these men down, so they cannot hurt them." Callen breathed deeply, as the recognition of the danger Ava and their children were in, sank in. He tried to reign his emotions in, before his team arrived. "But I'm the last person Ava wants around her right now."

"She's torn Callen. Between grieving for Matt and her feelings for you. Don't think just because she moved on and married Matt, that she ever stopped loving you. But you did break her heart. She needed her kids to have a Father, because I had never been around enough, when she was growing up. Our jobs take us away too much, I know. But she let you keep the contact up with Tom and Bronte all of these years. The relationship you have with your kids means more to her, than she will ever admit. She gets that stubbornness from me, I'm afraid."

Callen smirked. He knew Ava's traits that she had inherited from the older man. "Yes! She has been good about it. I've been lucky. Hell! She even ripped into me, because I didn't make it to Tom's graduation, and because I wouldn't let them visit me in LA. The risk was too high. I'd been so careful, so I have no idea how Janvier found them."

"It sounds like Janvier has done his research, that's for sure. You said he'd been threatening you for a while, sometime before Sidorov came on the scene. Perhaps he'd been watching you for longer than you have realised." Gibbs sat patiently, as he waited for his friend to think things over and reply. He had always been a patient man. It came in handy, when it came to interviewing suspects. His patience outweighed the suspects, resulting in them giving in, and admitting to their crimes.

"Maybe." Callen replied. However the French arms dealer had managed to locate his children, Callen knew he had played him too well again. He was the first to really catch Callen out this way, to always be one step ahead of him. It frustrated him, to no end.

"Looks like the rest of your team have arrived. Let's go!" Gibbs and Callen stood to walk over and welcomed Sam, Kensi and Deeks. This was the second time his team had dropped everything and followed him. The first was to Romania, to rescue Hetty. Now it was to bring down their enemies, to keep his family safe. He owed them for their loyalty to him. He still struggled to grasp the fact that his partner and junior members of his team would risk their own lives, for him.

_Love to know what you think of this story._


	4. Chapter 4

**All In The Name Of Family**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I do not own any NCIS or NCISLA characters. I am thankful I can borrow them for this story._

**Chapter 4**

As Gibbs and Callen exited the lift with the rest of the LA team, they were greeted by a frantic Tom. "I can't find Mom anywhere."

"She was in the bathroom, the last time I saw her." Callen told his son.

"Bronte's looked in there. We've looked everywhere." He was worried about his Mom.

"I think I have an idea of where she may be." Gibbs told his grandson. "Wait upstairs with your sisters. I'll be back soon."

Sam, Kensi and Deeks were intrigued by Tom, a younger version of their team leader. They watched Callen interact with his son, and were impressed by how well he handled his son, who was clearly worried over his Mom's disappearance. They followed Callen and Tom up the stairs and were stopped in their tracks, when they saw Bronte. She was a beautiful blue eyed sixteen year old. They wondered if she looked anything like Amy, Callen's dead sister.

**NCIS**

Ducky and Palmer were chatting about their new victim, who had been shot in the chest multiple times. They heard the doors slide open, but didn't lift their heads up. "We're not ready for you yet Gibbs." The older man commented.

There was no reply, so Ducky looked up and was surprised by the person who had entered. "Um, you shouldn't be here." He told her kindly. He could see grief on the woman's face.

Ava Day stood still as she saw her husband's body on the bench, with his chest cavity cut open. She shuddered at the image of her husband's autopsy, something she hadn't taken in at first. Tears then poured down her face.

The doors slid open again and in walked Jethro Gibbs. "Ava. You shouldn't be down here." He tried to move his grieving daughter out of autopsy, but Ava remained where she stood. "I'm sorry Ducky, we didn't realise she had come down here. Come on Av, sweetheart." Ava finally turned to face her Father. Her normally bright blue eyes were red and swollen from crying. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the forehead. "Come on, your children have been worried about you."

Ducky and Palmer stood still, mouths agape, over Gibbs handling of the woman, they now knew to be Ava. Their current victim's wife. They heard him call her sweetheart, and watched him pull her in for a hug and kiss, before leading her away. They were speechless, as they turned to face each other, puzzled over what they had just seen. Ducky, who had been friends with the seasoned agent for a long time, had known him the longest, frowned. He tried to think over the thoughts in his head, analysing his old friend's behaviour. "I have no idea who she is Palmer. I've never seen her before." But there was something familiar about the woman, he just couldn't put his finger on. He needed to get to the bottom of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Abby's presence as she walked through the doors. But today she was not her usual bouncy self. "Is that Lieutenant Commander Matthew Day's body?"

"Ah yes." Ducky replied, still baring the frown. "We just had a visitor. A woman."

"We think the Lieutenant Commander's wife." Palmer added. "Gibbs led her away."

"Oh good, he found her. Her children have been searching everywhere for her. Gibbs thought he had an idea of where she had gone to." Abby sighed with relief. "I can't believe he kept them a secret from us."

"Who are you talking about Abby?" Palmer asked.

"You haven't heard? Gibbs didn't tell you?" She asked surprised.

"No he didn't." Ducky replied. "Who is she?"

"She's Gibbs' daughter, which makes your victim here his son-in-law." Abby frowned as she noticed they were in the middle of his autopsy. "She saw you working on him, didn't she?"

"Yes she did." Ducky shook his head. "His daughter?" He couldn't believe he didn't know.

"Oh, that's not good!" Abby shook her head. "Yes Ducky, she is. But that's not all. Her two older children are G Callen's kids. This explains their close friendship. They kept them a secret to keep them safe. I understand why, after losing Shannon and Kelly, but from us as well? Oh, and her youngest are twins, a boy and a girl. The girl is named Kelly, and she looks like Gibbs's daughter Kelly too. She's about the same age when she died. So you can imagine how freaked out Gibbs is right now. Apparently it's an enemy of Callen's whose found them. Some French arms dealer, who burned Callen's partner Sam to a Russian named Sidorov."

"Calm down Abby." Ducky pleaded. "Agent Callen is here?

"Sorry!" The information on their current case had sent Abby into a frenzy. She worried over their boss. Tony had tried to calm her down, but when Tom and Bronte couldn't find Ava anywhere, she had got caught up in the moment of the drama again. She took a deep breath, before she continued. "This Janvier promised to destroy everyone close to Callen. Sidorov's men have been seen close to the Days' house. We think they are working together to kill them all. They were also seen at the son's university."

Abby had passed on so much information, it made Ducky and Palmer's heads spin.

"Mr Palmer. We need to focus on this case. Anything we find that can help Gibbs find his killer, then we need to find it." Ducky tried to attain his assistant's attention. All that Abby had told them had him worried. Over his old friend and his family. He needed to finish this autopsy and see if his friend was okay.

"Let me know when you have something for me Ducky." Abby turned to leave.

"We have these bullets for you Abs." Palmer walked over and handed the container holding three bullets inside.

"Thanks Jimmy." Abby left them to complete the autopsy on Gibbs' son-in-law. That fact of who this man was, made the procedure more daunting for the men. It suddenly became personal again. And when things got personal for one member of their team, it affected them all. They were close and had become a family.

**NCIS**

Gibbs pressed the stop button on the elevator. "Av, sweetheart. Look at me."

Ava was still in shock from seeing her husband's body on the table. "They cut his chest open." She trembled from the memory she could not shake from her mind.

"Ava!" Gibbs turned his daughter around to face him.

She looked up at her Father with tears in her eyes.

"Why did you go down there? We've been worried about you." He wiped a fallen tear off her cheek.

"I was looking for you. I couldn't see you anywhere."

Gibbs pulled his daughter in closer to comfort her. He kissed her on the top of her head as she nestled into his shoulder. "I was outside with Callen. He's feeling the guilt over what's happened Av. You should go easier on him."

Ava moved back from her Father. "You two were always like Father and son. No one would have thought it was me who was your daughter, all those years ago. You're still thick as thieves." She shook her Father's hands from her arms. "Leave me alone. Please." She shrunk back into the corner of the lift and refused to allow Gibbs to come closer.

Gibbs watched his daughter build walls around her. He shook his head, as he thought over his daughter's words. "That's not fair, and you know it Av. He never had any family. And you're going to push those good days we had together back in his face and say he shouldn't have had them?"

"He broke my heart by building his stupid walls around his heart Dad. And the one man who healed my broken heart is now lying dead on a cold metal table downstairs having his organs removed by two strangers. It's his fault. All of it. If he hadn't pushed me away, none of this would have happened." Ava shrunk to the floor and hugged her knees. The past eighteen hours had been too much for her.

"He pushed you away to keep you safe. It was the only way he knew how. But Matt's death is not his fault. That's why my good friends Ducky and Jimmy, are treating his body with the upmost respect, so they can find out who did this to him. So we can keep you and your children safe, and put those responsible behind bars." Gibbs had raised his voice louder than he had anticipated, but his own worry about his family had caused him to lose his control.

"No! Kill them. It's the only way we will be safe." Gibbs was shocked by his daughter's admission. She was never one for the death penalty. But now it had become personal. And she wanted whoever had killed Matt and were after her and her children; dead. "Because keeping us a secret and pushing us away hasn't worked."

Gibbs shook his head. "You have no idea of the enemies Callen and I have had, who would have killed you and your children in an instant, if we hadn't kept you a secret. The fact that this Janvier has found out about you, scares me to hell, Av. After Shannon and Kelly..."

"Dad! I'm sorry." She knew her Father still hadn't fully gotten over the loss of his first wife and other daughter. She stood up and hugged him. "I'm sorry Dad."

Gibbs wrapped his arms back around his daughter. "It's okay Av. It's going to be okay. We will get them and ensure you are safe again. I promise." Gibbs pressed the button again, to move them on up the building. "Just remember, Callen is here because he cares."

The doors opened and they found Callen waiting in the conference room with his team. Ava felt strange seeing her Father and former lover together in agent mode. All eyes moved to them as they entered. Tom quietly moved over to his Mom's side. "Mom, where were you? We've been looking for you everywhere." He whispered, not wanting to make a scene in front of his Dad's team.

"I didn't mean to worry you, Tom. I was looking for your Grandpa." Ava had managed to pull herself together, for the sake of her children. They'd needed her to be strong, but so far, Tom had been the strong one. Her two younger children needed her to be there for them. She walked around the table and swapped with Bronte, to sit between Jesse and Kelly. She wrapped her arms around them to comfort them. They had after all, lost their Father.

Ava watched her Father and his team discuss the case with Callen and his team. She had heard about them from Callen and her Father, but meeting them like this had been surreal. She saw anger and fear cross their faces of Callen's team, and observed what they had already been through, at the hands of this man. But another name had been mentioned that had Callen's partner and the shaggy blonde share a similar look of fear. Concern was spread across Callen's face as he whispered to them.

Suddenly the door sprang open and a man around her Father's age entered. "What is the meaning of this, Agent Callen?"

A look of annoyance crossed Callen's and his team's faces. "Hello to you too Assistant Director." Was Callen's churlish reply. The others remained silent.

The man scanned the room and noticed the family sitting at the other end of the conference room. Before the man could say another word, Ava saw her Father step in.

"I called Callen to D.C. Owen. Our cases have crossed over. Leon has been advised of the situation and has given us the go ahead for our teams to work together on this." Ava was impressed of her Father's stance against the intruder. She could tell he was not liked by Callen's team.

The man nodded, and the fire in his stance smouldered. He turned and spoke quietly with Callen, before the two left the room.

Callen followed Granger down the stairs and off to the side, hoping for some privacy. "Would you please tell me what is going on, Agent Callen."

"It's Janvier and Sidorov. They are here in DC. Four of Sidorov's men have been seen with Janvier before killing a Lieutenant Commander in his home last night." Callen kept the information simple for the older man. He didn't want him to know all the personal factors in this case.

"Why are you here Callen?" The dropping of Agent surprised Callen. He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, wondering why their Assistant Director had changed his tone, all of a sudden.

"Gibbs called me. He needed my help. When we realised it involved Janvier we flew over. It's only since being here, have we become aware of Sidorov's involvement as well." As far as he was concerned, those who needed to know all the details, knew about Ava and his kids.

"Gibbs and his team could have handled this case without you Callen. What's really going on?" He wasn't blind. When he had scanned the room, he had noticed something, that had almost knocked him off his feet.

Callen fisted his hands by his side. He was struggling to reign his emotions under control. This man in front of him always managed to rile him up the wrong way. "I've told you why." Callen spoke, barely louder than a whisper.

"Look Callen. I am not here to be your enemy. I am your boss, just like Hetty and Director Vance. I am asking you as team leader of one of my teams to fill me in on all the details of this case, like you have with Hetty and Director Vance." Callen sighed. Hetty had told him to play nice with Granger, but the man had from the start, made it hard for him and his team to like him, let alone trust him. "Oh I know you have filled them in. You wouldn't be here otherwise."

"So what you are saying, is that I am to trust you with this?" It was hard for him, to trust Granger. Especially with his kids being involved.

Granger looked up and saw the woman from inside the conference room walk down the stairs. She hesitated, before gaining strength to interrupt their conversation.

"Excuse me Owen?" Ava began. That was the only name she had on the man.

Callen was surprised by Ava's actions.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Granger waited for her to continue, while Callen stood still trying to not reveal anything. But he struggled as Ava's hand gently rested on his arm.

"You are both needed up in MTAC. The others are waiting for you." She turned to Callen. "I don't blame you for what's happened. For what it's worth." She retreated to the meals room for a drink. She needed some air, really, but since they were in danger, she thought it was safer to remain indoors. It was the closest she could come to an apology. Having her Father's rules ingrained in her had made it hard for her to apologise. Rule number six. Never apologise. It's a sign of weakness. But there were times when things needed to be said, to put things right.

Granger waited for Callen at the top of the stairs, before entering MTAC. "Who is she?" Owen asked quietly. "I saw with my own eyes the two teenagers in the conference room who are a spitting image of you Callen. Is this why you're here? I need to know before I walk inside that room."

Callen knew he had no choice. "Yes!" He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out again, to steady his nerves.

"There is no record of you having a family, anywhere. Do you have any idea how Janvier has found them?" Owen saw the worry in the younger agent's eyes. He understood only too well the worry of keeping one's family safe, from the enemies one acquired in their the job. But he noticed how pale Callen looked.

"I have no idea. I have kept my distance from them for the past eight months, to ensure they were safe. We kept them a secret all of these years. It has saved them from the Comescus and the Reynosa Cartel, who were after Gibbs. But Janvier, he's one sneaky bastard." Callen noticed Granger frown when he mentioned Gibbs' name.

"What's Gibbs got to do with this?" Granger was confused.

"Ava is his daughter." The news hit him. He was aware of the close friendship Gibbs had with Callen, but until now, he hadn't seen the two together. It all made sense. If the truth be told, he was relieved when he had heard of their friendship, that Callen had some sort of Father figure in his life.

Granger nodded. "Thank you Callen. For trusting me with this. I understand how hard that was for you."

Callen was speechless. The strange behaviour coming from Granger baffled him. He shook his head as he entered MTAC, behind Granger, trying to work out the puzzle of Owen Granger.

_Love to know what you think. Please review!_


	5. Chapter 5

**All In The Name Of Family**

By BH72

_Disclaimer: I do not own any NCIS or NCISLA characters. I am thankful I can borrow them for this story._

**Chapter 5**

Callen found it hard to concentrate on the case at hand. It was personal, and he waited for either Vance, Granger or Hetty, to remove him from the case. Eric and Nell brought the rest of the team up to date as well as the latest location Sidorov's men were spotted by the street cameras, which were spread out across the city.

"We've seen them driving north on the 270." Nell advised them.

"Where are they going?" Sam moved forward and looked at the map on the screen. "Shit!" He turned and Callen instantly saw the worry in his brown eyes. "They're heading for Camp David." He moved away from the screen and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Isn't that where the President and his family are right now?" McGee asked, wondering why Sidorov's men would go there.

Gibbs saw the looks between Callen and Sam. "You need to fill the rest of us in and fast."

Callen gave Sam a look of defeat as he sat down next to him. He rubbed his hand over his face as he waited for Sam to speak. All eyes of both teams, their Director, Assistant Director and the three up on the screen in Los Angeles were on them.

"My family are at Camp David." Sam answered. "I need to ring Michelle."

"Who? Dinozzo inquired, still trying to get his head around the fact that an NCIS agent's family were at Camp David with the President's family.

"My wife." Sam stood, as he pulled his cell out of his pocket. "Michelle!" He exited MTAC as he spoke to her.

"Why is Sam's family with the First family at camp David?" Nell inquired. It was what puzzled her the most.

"Because the First Lady is Sam's sister." Callen managed to get out as he followed his partner out of the secured room.

The information settled on the minds of those who had been privileged to be told, in MTAC. The shock of the news held everyone quiet.

Gibbs looked over the faces of those who stood in the room. He knew there was no way he could hold Sam back on this operation. But what concerned him the most, was what would happen if he split Callen and Sam up? They were flawless as partners. However, he needed Callen to remain here to keep Ava and her children safe. He trusted Callen to do that. But also he knew that Ava wasn't going to like the fact that he was going to leave them and head out with his team to Camp David. It was a long drive. The risks were high.

"We need to advise the President's protection detail, Leon." Gibbs finally stated to his boss.

"On it straight away Gibbs." Leon Vance exited MTAC to make the call from his office.

"There's no way you can keep Agent Hanna from this Owen." Gibbs moved closer to the third man in charge of the agency. "I need Callen to stay here with Detective Deeks to keep Ava and her children safe. The rest of us will head out to Camp David.". He turned to the rest of them. "Gear up."

"I'm coming with you." Owen Granger insisted.

"No you're not, Owen. Not after the last time you went out into the field." It had been months since Owen had been shot in the shoulder by the Comescus. However, the weakness from the wound had been a factor he couldn't hide from the former sniper. He resigned to Gibbs' words and watched Kensi leave with Gibbs' team.

Gibbs went to see his daughter and grandchildren, before they left. He saw the look Ava gave him, and he almost regretted his decision to go. "We have to go. We've got a location on the men who killed Matt."

"No! Please don't go." She held onto his shirt to keep him with them. It was a selfish move, but she needed him right then. His voice soothed her and bought her back to reality, whenever she felt herself be pulled down from shock and grief.

"Callen, Deeks and Owen will remain behind to protect you." He advised her.

"Why him?" He saw her eyes pleading with him. It broke him to see her like this. In such a short time, the confident woman his daughter had become, had vanished.

"Because you need him." He declared.

Ava shook her head. "I need you Dad."

"I am needed elsewhere. I have mine and Callen's team to lead." He pulled her in and kissed her lovingly on her forehead. "I love you." He whispered to her.

He turned and found himself faced with Callen. "Take good care of them for me." He side stepped to walk around Callen, but was held back.

"You're side lining me here? This is Sam's family we're talking about Gibbs. I didn't fly all this way..."

"Ava needs you Callen. I need you to look after them. You are here because of them. Don't make me force you." He spoke quietly with his old friend. Callen looked over at Ava and saw the anguish on her face. He understood why Gibbs had made him stay. One of them had to, for Ava and her children's sake. They had lost Matt already, only the night before. They couldn't go through losing the only other Dad his own kids had known as well.

"Okay." He surrendered and nodded to the older man and let him leave.

Ava shook her head as she watched her Father leave. She ran to the ladies bathroom to give herself the space she craved. But she should have known that he would follow.

Callen opened the door slowly, checking for anyone else to be in there besides her. He looked under the doors and found the one Ava had locked herself in. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He turned the cold tap on and splashed it onto his face, before drying it on a hand towel. He moved as if he was leaving, but remained quiet by the door. He heard her unlock the door and readied himself for her onslaught. But she surprised him. She stood in the doorway and made eye contact with him. "You think you're clever G?"

Callen shrugged. "It was worth a try. You can't hide from me forever, you know."

"I'm not the one with a history of hiding, G." Straight to the heart, she dug in hard with her words. She was like her Mother at moments like this. But she had her Father's stubbornness and strength. It was what had attracted him to her in the first place. Smart, witty, beautiful and strong. But she was nowhere near that woman now, as she looked broken and vulnerable.

Callen moved closer towards her. He remained quiet as he watched her study him. He was a step away from her now, when he stopped. He understood about her boundaries. "Av, I know I'm the last person you need right now, but I can't not be here. I need to know that you are going to be okay."

"It's not like you had a choice..."

"I'm sorry. For everything. For pushing you away, for Matt." Callen bit onto his bottom lip, as he tried hard to hold himself together. It broke him to see her hurt. "If anything happened to you, or any of your kids, our kids..."

Ava furrowed her brow as she saw the emotion ripple through Callen's body. She wasn't prepared for him to be like this. "Don't G. Please. I need you to be strong for me, not like this." Her old strong self bubbled to the surface, if only for a moment. She moved her had to his arm. "You're scarying me G. I've never seen you like this." She had lowered her voice to a whisper, as she struggled to speak to him.

Callen moved the final step and pulled her in close, wrapping his arms round her. It felt so good to hold her again. Like coming home. 'Oh what had he done, by pushing her away all those years ago.' They had been happy, once. In love with their second child on its way. But he hadn't been accustomed to being loved. With thirteen years of being one of many children, in orphanages, and later, the thirty-seven foster homes he stayed in. No longer than three months, with the Rostoffs'. It had been the happiest three months of his life, that he could remember. Until he met Ava. She had taken his breath away, and he had been moved by how much love she gave him. She showed him what it was to love. Real and deep. Only for him to ruin it as he pushed her away.

Her hair smelt of lavender, soft and brown. It waved below her shoulders, adding softness to her grieving face. He brushed his lips ever so lightly, on her temple. "I'm not hiding anymore." His voice was thick from the emotion that had taken over him.

Ava nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder. His arms felt strong, providing a comfort she never thought possible from him, again. "Good." She whispered back, afraid that her voice would break up on her.

**NCIS**

Sam struggled to keep himself from driving too fast. They had lights flashing on their roof, to enable them to move quickly on the 270, without the local PD causing them grief. But they needed to arrive there safely. Additional NCIS agents had been added to his team, seeing Callen and Deeks were forced to stay back. Agents Derringer and Foley who sat in the back seat, remained quiet, as they knew this case was personal for the former Navy SEAL. He had heard the undertones in Michelle's voice, as she tried hard to disguise the fear that she felt.

It wasn't just herself that Michelle worried about this time. Their children, A'ishah and Mahaliah, were still very young, at six and nine years of age. Defenceless against Sidorov's men. She had put them all at risk from her time as Quinn. She watched the scurry of Secret Service Agents move them all to a safe location, down in the basement of the woodlands lodge. While they moved down into the dark, dull lights of the basement, agents moved swiftly around the estate to be readied for the arrival of Sidorov's men. It was important that she wasn't found by them, blowing her cover, that she had maintained intact for the past ten years. She pulled her sig out and inspected it. She had only cleaned it earlier that day, after a practise shoot out at tin cans, at the amusement of her brother-in-law, Deion Williams. The current President of the United States of America. He was proud of his wife's family, who he knew had done their fair share in service to their country. He wanted to show her off to his protectors, that she was as good, if not better than they were. He had joked about hiring her as his personal guard, much to his wife's objection.

Now she was just part of the First Family. Hidden for their protection from their informed intruders. Russians, who would at no hesitation would kill them all. She placed her arms around her daughters' shoulders to comfort them. Sam and Michelle had managed to keep them hidden from the darkness of their work. The underworld that majority of its citizens were oblivious to. But now she felt them shiver from nervousness and fear, that they now felt. They were too young to be put into such danger. They had tried to keep their lives innocent. Their decisions to keep their lives this way had been ripped away from them, at a moment's notice.

"It's all going to be okay, sweeties. No one is going to hurt us." She whispered softly to appease them. "Daddy's on his way with more people."

The girls knew their Dad had been a Navy SEAL. He was built like a solid soldier, in their eyes, and always felt safe knowing he was around. Her words encouraged them, in their belief, that they would be protected. Let alone all the Secret Agents who were placed around Camp David, for their protection. They were classified as the best of the best, for their nation's leader. Their uncle. The President, Deion Williams, and his family. Their Aunt, Jessica and their two cousins: Sienna and Asher. Although they were a few years older then Mahaliah, they were close and good friends.

A few agents who were constantly beside President Williams, remained in the basement with them. It gave Michelle reassurance that she was not on her own, when it came to protecting her family.

**NCIS**

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs had no problems keeping up with Agent Hanna, on their drive north towards Camp David. Dinozzo's constant ramblings kept his mind from worrying about his daughter and grandchildren. Which for once, he was grateful for.

McGee and Cooper, sat in the back seat, chatting about the information Nell and Eric were feeding through to his laptop, as they travelled. "They're ten miles out from Camp David, Boss."

Gibbs nodded. It was all he felt like saying. A head action. He was well known for his few words. But he was straight to the point, when he did speak. He wondered how he would feel once he met them? He knew they were the ones that had killed his son-in-law Matt, and placed his daughter and grandchildren in danger. But as long as they were moving away from the Navy Yard, he felt more at ease and focused on the President's and Sam's families. They were their first priorities.

"We're eight miles behind them Boss." It was a long way still, with only ten miles till the Russians reached Camp David. They were driving the fastest they could, to ensure they made it in one piece. They had gained on the Russians, which satisfied the older man enough, for now. He was glad is was spring and not winter. Icy roads would have made the journey more hazardous.

**NCIS**

Callen sat in the Conference Room alone, pondering about the case at hand. How had Janvier found his family? He had managed to keep them safe from the Comescus, twice. And everyone knew that the Romanian Crime Family had eyes and ears out around Europe and the US. But the French arms dealer had been the nemesis of Callen's career. He had played him and his team on numerous occasions. He had killed his friend Mike Renko and blew Lauren Hunter up in a car. His team were almost killed by a bomb, as they went to investigate an abandoned warehouse. Fortunately, he had read through the Chameleon's game and sent a quick warning to Eric, to get them out. It had saved their lives. Then they played the game of chess and managed to save the CIA's operative inside of Iran, code name Cherokee. Which had led the Iranians to have Janvier's left hand to be cut off.

But then he had to go into Iran to bring Janvier back onto US soil, to broker a nuclear arms deal between Isaak Sidorov and the Iranians. It bothered him how sneaky the man was. He was a psychopath, with no feelings of remorse on killing anyone who got in his way. He had burned his partner Sam, which led to Sam and Deeks' torture. They were fortunate again, to rescue them alive. But the effects from the events, had a ongoing fallout on his team. Sam had bounced back quickly, but he worried over how long it would be before the former SEAL would eventually snap. Deeks had caused them concern, with reckless behaviour and hiding behind his humour once again. He had been in denial, and he had witnessed how worried both Hetty and Kensi were over him. He had been rash with the younger Detective, telling him face to face that he didn't want him back, if he wasn't ready.

However, he noticed Sam had taken on a protectiveness and a close bond with him, buying him a bran muffin every now and then. It was a big give from Sam. Yet he understood why he did it. He owed his wife's life to the Detective. And here they were a year down the track, at it again. When would this ever be over? It chipped away at him, bit by bit. If only there had been another way to find the nuclear bombs!

As he ran over through his mind the events from the first meeting of Marcel Janvier to the present day, he thought of the times he spent with Tom and Bronte. In the last year, there had been only phone calls and Skype sessions. But the time prior to that, he realised he had become sloppy. He had Tom and Bronte visit him in Spring Break, prior to him bringing Janvier back. The man was locked away, so he could only have known about his children, by a source. Someone who he'd been in contact with to keep an eye out. He mentally punched himself in the head for his stupidity.

Callen's train of thought was interrupted by Granger, as he entered the room.

"Where's the Day family?" Owen asked the younger man.

"They're with Abby, down in her lab. She's distracting them. Deeks is with them." It had given him the time he needed to think, analyse Janvier and the risk on his children.

"How are you holding up?" Owen asked him gently.

Callen gave him a quizzical look, at the older man's behaviour. "What's with you Granger? Your acting all weird on me." He snapped back. He hadn't the time to work the man out. He had enough to think about.

"Nothing!" He tried to inform him. "I'm just showing concern. Is there a crime in that?" It bothered him, that even after all they had been through, he still felt like Callen continued to place walls up between them.

"That is more than nothing." Granger being kind to him, had an effect on him, like he hadn't felt in a long time. Like he was safe. That he should trust the man before him. Even Hetty had tried continuously to get him to trust the older man. But Callen's history made it hard for him to trust.

Ava stood on the other side of the door and listened in. She shook her head as she heard Callen place walls up around him with his boss. But Owen had looked at Bronte, like he had seen a ghost. It was that reaction from the Assistant Director, that pulled her towards finding out more about the man. From what she could hear, Callen thought Owen was behaving peculiar. Quietly, she opened the door and closed it behind her. They were sitting by the window, across the other side from the door. What she witnessed, surprised her. Callen had transformed before her, into a small boy. Oh he was still very much the strong man who had held her not half an hour ago, in the ladies' bathroom. But he looked small. Lost. Like he had on occasions, before he left her, sixteen years ago. Owen appeared to speak with him, deal with him, like a Father would their child. Then it dawned her her. What if Owen Granger was in fact Callen's Father?

Ava was pulled from her thoughts when Callen stood and began speaking harshly with Granger.

Callen couldn't help himself. The emotions that rippled through his body was too much to bare, after all he had endured over the last twelve hours. The worry over Ava and his children. He needed to get control back in his life. He needed normality. He struggled to deal with Granger being so damn nice to him. "Fine then. If you're not going to be honest with me, then there's nothing for me to trust."

"Callen. Sit back down." Granger ordered him.

Callen smirked in return as he realised he had managed to push the older man's buttons. "Now that's more like it." He sat but crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh you are so damn annoying Agent Callen." Callen's face became a look of insolence, knowing he had achieved his goal. He had his power back again. He had riled the older man once more. The tension that had always snapped between them had returned. A familiarity, which calmed Callen.

"Good. For a moment, I thought you had gone all weird on me." Callen turned as he realised they weren't alone. He raised his brow as he noticed Ava had watched them silently. Suddenly he felt foolish for his behaviour towards Granger. The realisation Ava had witnessed his childish behaviour with his boss, hit him. "I'm sorry Av..."

"You should tell him Owen." Ava ignored Callen's apology and walked over towards them. She looked only at Granger, as she spoke.

Callen fisted his hands by his side, as he tried to regain control again. His emotions had been out of control ever since Gibbs had called him. He looked from Ava to Granger puzzled. His steely blue eyes glared at Granger, with the urge to know, to understand what the hell Ava was referring to.

"Tell me what?" He felt a déjà vu moment hit him. More secrets had been kept from him. Firstly by Hetty, now Granger? 'What the hell did Granger know?'

"I don't know what you are talking about Mrs Day." Granger was annoyed that Ava had seen his reaction when he first saw Bronte. He hid it quickly, but she had seen it.

Ava laughed. "You cannot deny your reaction over seeing our daughter Bronte. Now Owen, you have an opportunity to make amends."

Callen glared at Granger. "What's she talking about Granger?" He asked. He tried hard not to lose his temper with Ava in the room. But had they been alone, he knew they most probably would have ended up in a shouting match.

Owen Granger looked from Ava to Callen. He shook his head and sat back down. He sighed heavily. "You weren't suppose to see that." He admitted to Ava.

"See what?" Callen had missed his reaction over Bronte.

"Like he had seen a ghost." Ava stated.

Callen furrowed his brow, confused. "Why would seeing Bronte make you think you were seeing a ghost?" He demanded.

"She's so much like your sister. I had no idea you had any children. I was not expecting to see anyone who looked like Amy." He rubbed his hand over his short hair, as he tried hard to find the words.

"You knew my sister?" Callen sat back down beside him. "How? When? She died when she was eleven." His voice became croaky.

"I know Cal. I am so sorry..." Owen's eye welled up with the tears from his own grief he had hidden for the past thirty-seven years.

"What did you just call me?" Callen questioned him. "Who are you?" He wanted to raise his voice, as he was annoyed with Granger. But he stopped as he saw the man's grief. He lowered his voice to a more softer tone.

Granger looked over at Callen. "I am your Father."

Callen shook his head. "No! That's impossible. You're not old enough to be my Father." He stood and paced the room.

Ava stood in front of Callen to prevent him from running. She knew him too well. "Listen to him G."

"I am old enough to be your Father Cal. Just not Amy's. I never knew who her Father was. But I loved her as my own anyway." Owen shook his head. "I tried hard to keep you both safe, but I failed." It had burdened him ever since Hetty had provided him the news that Amy had drowned.

Callen opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again. The man who had done nothing but peeve him, ever since they met. He couldn't get his head around it. His Father. Of all the years he had tried to find him. Here he was all this time.

Ava gasped as she saw Callen punch Owen hard in the jaw. She knew how much it had effected him, all these years of not knowing who he was, or who or where his family were.

"You're not my Father." Callen told him sternly. "My Father is Nikita Alexander Reznikov. And I will find him."

"It was an alias." Owen stood and grabbed his son's arm. "I went undercover as a KGB Major. I helped refugees escape into the US. Arkady Kolcheck can confirm this as the truth. Your Mother Clara and I met when Amy was three years old. We fell in love and before we knew it, you came along." It frustrated him that his own son refused to see the truth. His own flesh and blood. "You can have our DNA compared, if you don't believe me."

"Let go of me." Callen pleaded. He was desperate to run. But he knew he couldn't. Ava and his children needed him. "Damn you Granger. You ruin everything, don't you." He refused to accept that the older man was in fact his Father. "I have a job to do. To figure out how Janvier found out about my family. But no, you have to come along and get into my head. Go back to wherever you came from. We don't need you here."

"G!" Ava moved closer, hoping to diffuse Callen's anger. "Let's just sit and talk this out like grown ups."

"There is nothing else to talk about Ava. Granger is leaving." He turned and fixed his glare on the older man. He studied him. There was nothing to identify that they were at all related.

"I think you should sit back down G. Please." Callen groaned inside. Her pleading chopped away at him. "I'll go and get some ice for your jaw Owen. It looks sore." She picked Callen's hand up and examined his knuckles. "You'll need some ice on that too G."

Callen's jaw dropped as he watched the old Ava return. Organising those around her. Another trait she inherited from her Father. He had been jealous of her always knowing who she was. But she had shared her Father with him, which he had been grateful of. Gibbs had been the closest thing he had to a Father. They bonded easily as they were alike. But this man in front of him, there was nothing they had in common, other than their job.

"Callen, please." Owen moved in front of his son. "We need to talk about this."

"Does Hetty know who you are?" He needed to know if Hetty had lied to him when he asked her about a Father.

"She didn't for a long time. She picked up something when Hans Shreiber was taken by the Comescus. So she questioned me about it. You know how she is Cal. There's no way you can refuse her once she's on to something."

"Why didn't you tell me when we first met?" Callen's voice soften as resigned to the fact that Granger was who he said he was.

"Because I saw how angry I made you." It had been hard on Owen to refrain from admitting it to his son three years prior.

"Well pretending to hold Hetty hostage in the boat shed is not going to win you friends. Nor threatening to blow us all up either." Callen thought back to that night. They had been drawn away from an op by Hetty's agent needs assistance alert. "You're a bastard, you know that!"

"In our line of business, it's vital for survival." Granger admitted.

Callen nodded. "So how come you've called me Cal and Callen today? You've never called me anything but Agent Callen. Is that my name? Callen Granger?" He wasn't stupid.

"Yes." Owen admitted. He had slipped up, when he had let his emotions get the better of him, as he had worried over his son's family. "Callen George Granger."

Callen shook his head amazed over it all. "All this time I've wondered what the G stood for. And it was my family name that was hidden from me. Why?" It was a valid question.

"I had to keep you safe from my enemies. I had no idea about the Comescu's blood feud with your Mother's family. Even though they killed her, I thought it was because of me. I thought you would be safer in the US under the Callen name. I struggled to get you both out with the help of Arkady. I couldn't come with you, as I had a job to do still. I had to keep my cover intact. So I asked Hans Schreiber to keep an eye on you. Then my cover got blown and I was arrested. Which held me up longer to get out and find you. Once I did, I was too late to save Amy." The grief of the loss over his step daughter still laid heavily on his shoulders.

"Schreiber kept tabs on you for me, so I knew about everything from your life. I am so sorry son, for not being there for you. I would have been if I could have. But it was ten years before I could get home again. Then you were fifteen. Struggling to stay in any of the families you were placed in. I followed you one day, when you fled from one of the families you were staying with at the time. You had been there a week. Schreiber gave me the address as soon as he had found where you had been moved to. I saw what you went through. The physical abuse from the Foster Dads." Owen paused as Ava returned into the room.

Ava hesitated as she saw Callen and Owen sit close together talking. She didn't want to interrupt them, although she knew they both needed the ice.

Callen looked up and gave her a nod. She continued her passage over to them and handed them each an ice pack. "Twenty minutes on, no buts." She ordered,

Both men nodded and obeyed. "Thanks Av." Callen felt the coolness of the ice suddenly numb the pain on his knuckles. He frowned as he saw the bruising on Granger's jaw turn purple and swell. He had hit him hard. But he needed to do it. All those years he had abandoned him. Now he was hearing the story of why that had happened. "So you followed me when I fled the Paterson's. Why didn't you take me home then?" He demanded.

"It wasn't as simple as that Cal. It had been ten years since you had seen me. You wouldn't have known who I was. There was no proof that I was your Father, other than a family photo, taken just before your Mother was killed."

"So you just left me there? Homeless. Abused. Unloved?" His voice accumulated in volume once again, as frustration and anger took over.

"You were safer in the system." Owen tried to reason with him.

Callen stood to leave as he'd had enough. "Safer for whom? You? Because it sure wasn't for me."

"You're still alive Callen. If I hadn't, you would have been dead a long time ago. Too young to protect yourself. But here you are, a grown man, a brilliant Federal Agent whose a legend due to his ability to become a ghost and slot into any alias he needs to be."

"Only because of the crappy life I lived. Was that your plan? To make me a great agent? Because I am sick of the games. This is my life." Ava moved closer and rested her hand on his arm. Callen flinched at her touch. But then he felt himself slowly relax a little. She had the ability to calm him in an instant. 'Why had he ever pushed her away?'

"G! You need to lower your voice. You don't want Tom or Bronte to hear you." She pleaded with him.

He took deep breaths in and slowly released them. "Perhaps they need to hear how their Grandfather abandoned their Dad when he was fifteen. That was the hardest year of my life. You could have saved me from the hell I endured that year." He shook Ava's hand from off his arm and walked out. He needed time alone. Some air. To take all of this in.

_Wow, a lot to take in. Hope you managed to keep up with all the details. Janvier is still on the loose, and hidden from Eric and Nell's eyes. Will Gibbs and Sam's teams manage to get to Camp David in time? So many lives at risk here. Let alone the bombshell Granger dropped on Callen._


End file.
